Are you a chocolate traitor?

So you can imagine how delighted I was when I found nicobella’s pumpkin chai truffles. Not only are they the perfect marriage of chocolate and pumpkin, they’re vegan. Many of my clients have found a need (or desire) to remove dairy from their diets. Introducing them to this outstanding vegan truffle is pure delight. These truffles were developed by Nichole Dandrea, a registered dietician who knows the value in creating a chocolate that is both sumptuous AND healthy.

For this contest, you’ll need tell me what flavor sensation can turn you into a chocolate traitor and why. The more descriptive you are, the better. Don’t forget, I LOVE to laugh.

8 Responses to Are you a chocolate traitor?

The only flavor I would choose over chocolate is that of honey. I don’t mean my honey of a wife, although that would too. I mean a pure, robust unfiltered honey. I use honey at breakfast and lunch everyday and sometimes dinner and dessert also. Don’t get me wrong, chocolate plays a key role in my diet. I like a piece of really dark chocolate after a great meal.

Not to seem trite, but pumpkin is mine as well… Actually, the combination of pumpkin and ginger will send me over the top. I think this is one of the reasons why fall is my favorite season…even though pumpkin purees are available all year, this is the time that I choose to indulge in pumpkin scones with candied ginger, pumpkin sugar cookies (!), and pumpkin bread. I also like the accompanying spices that go well…the clove, nutmeg, cinnamon,etc… but only if I can control the ratios…cannot stand the pumpkin spice ‘mixes’… I have actually played with pumpkin caramels with peppito seeds before too and that was lovely! But yes…if there is pumpkin on a dessert menu, that’s what I’ll choose 9.5 times out of 10! 🙂

Unfortunately, my tastebuds’ traitorous turn involve a flavor profile that is neither gluten-free, vegan, raw, or, in fact, good for me in any way other than a pure, gluttonous, lustful, gastronomic orgy in my mouth: fettuccine alfredo. Or, because I’m flexible, many types of pasta with rich cheeses and luscious sauces. I know–I should be hung for treason that egregious. Happily for my waistline and my cholesterol, I indulge in this NEARLY incomparable joy only once or twice a year. So grateful I can have chocolate every day.

Love to savour a rich creamy full flavoured Pumpkin and Chicken Risotto. Cooked to perfection with a balance of all things vegie! Devine and indulgent everytime is the only thing that teases me away from chocolates of all kinds.

I have to admit that chocolate is the one flavor I go to for everything-cake, ice cream, candy and even protein bars. I could cheat and say that I like chocolate chip ice cream with either mint or cream as a base, but it’s still the chocolate that completes those two flavors. I love the richness of chocolate desserts, and when I think of decadent, chocolate springs into my mind. With some heavy thought on this question though, I came up with the perfect answer. Shhhh don’t tell my beloved chocolate! This must be said behind its back. The one thing that will pull me away from that divine flavor that makes so many people swoon is Vanilla. Here’s why I say it: A vanilla ice cream cone can’t be beat. In it’s simplicity, vanilla not only stands to be topped, paired and added to, it is absolutely fine all alone. in fact, though a vanilla cheesecake goes well with a nice raspberry sauce, I can’t think of anything more appetizing than a fat slice of plain fluffy New York style cheesecake. Holy Yum! Yes, vanilla, as humble as some may consider it to be, is a flavor that enhances nearly all desserts, and when it’s the primary flavor, it truly shines. Mmmm back to dreaming about licking that silky smooth vanilla bean ice cream cone.

Oh, P.S. to my above–because when I’m traitorous I like to do it up right–but I’m also semi-addicted to nut butters. Several years ago I evolved beyond Peter Pan to freshly ground or at least plain organic, but I do love them: peanut, almond, cashew. Yum!

I would go for chocolate’s alter ego, vanilla. But only because it pairs so well with other flavors — sort of an innocent backdrop. Chocolate can stand on it’s own, but vanilla (pound cake, cup cakes, pudding, vodka…) invites fruit and/or a sauce of some sort… which leads me back to chocolate! 🙂

Sue Ann Gleason is a culinary nutritionist, radiant life expert, and writer living in the Washington, DC area with her husband John. When not working with clients, she can be found sampling exotic chocolates or building broccoli forests in her mashed potatoes.